Our nation is in distress, and we have brought it on ourselves as we have turned from God. We are on the brink of destruction from within. As we celebrate our liberty, let’s pray for God’s mercy and His intervention.
If God’s people will turn from their wicked ways and humble themselves and pray, He will hear from heaven and heal their land.
Daniel’s prayer for Israel in Daniel 9 is a good model for how to pray in these troubling times. Below is the essence of that prayer, with some adjustments to make it applicable for the USA rather than for Israel.
O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.
Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our leaders, to our fathers and all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame, as it is this day—to all the people of America, those near and those far off, because of the unfaithfulness which we have committed against You.
To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him. We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us through His Word and by His servants the prophets. Yes, all America has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him.
And He has confirmed His words, by bringing upon us a great disaster. As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth.
Therefore the Lord has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice. And now, O Lord our God, who established this nation with a mighty hand, and blessed it and made Yourself a name, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have done wickedly!
O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from this land; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, and Your people are a reproach to all those around us.
Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servants, and our supplications, and for the Lord’s sake cause Your face to shine on this nation, which is desolate. O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.
May His kingdom come and His will be done so that He will be glorified in our land.